An offensive-minded defender, the Ducks’ Brandon Montour has had to be patient when it comes to opportunities on that side of the puck. Points that came freely early in the season are harder to come by now that so many of his teammates have returned to health. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rarely does a young player’s career trajectory head straight upward. Times of struggle and hardship often come with periods of advancement for most in the developmental stage.

Brandon Montour is now dealing with his first full run through the complete NHL schedule. Not surprisingly, there have been challenges for the Ducks defenseman to learn from and move beyond between moments of success.

The rough night he had against Toronto on Monday illustrates the path to being a reliable defender – every night can be ragged and contain landmines. Montour came out of the Ducks’ 7-4 loss to the Maple Leafs with a grisly minus-4 rating.

It was much easier for him to assess his season in the hours before an inglorious 17-plus minutes when he was on the ice for five goals against.

“It’s been good,” Montour said. “Obviously it’s different. A learning experience. Each game is different. You get to learning about how tough it is playing every other day and you know how busy the schedule is.

“Not even on the ice. You’ve just got to really focus on what you do off the ice too.”

There were few expectations to deal with last season. Montour made the leap from the American Hockey League and played so well over his 27 regular-season games that it earned him regular duty and healthy minutes in three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

His combination of fluid skating, puck-moving ability and a cannon of a right-handed shot made Ducks general manager Bob Murray feel more comfortable about parting with veteran Sami Vatanen – a defender with similar traits – in order to get center Adam Henrique.

An offensive-minded defender, Montour has had to be patient when it comes to opportunities on that side of the puck. Points came freely early in the season as he had four of his six goals in October in producing while Vatanen, Hampus Lindholm and Cam Fowler missed time with injuries.

Now that Lindholm and Fowler are healthy, Montour has been relegated to the third pairing and there are fewer chances to create in the offensive end. But he’s living with that.

“They had their point in their career where they had (other) guys do that role until they left,” Montour said. “It’s one of those where when I get the opportunity, I want to take it all in. But obviously those guys are all skilled players.

“I’ll help them out as much as I can. They’re there for a reason too and they’ve had great careers. It just one of those where the guys were hurt and someone needed to step up. It was nice at the start of the year.”

Playing the defensive game often takes blue-liners years to master. Only the best truly do so. And Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said his player is trying to fill a role that has evolved over time. Today’s up-and-coming defenders have to be much more than lumbering behemoths.

It is the opposite of easy and, as the coach states, “the league can be cruel.”

“We can’t lose sight of the fact that we’re putting him in (tougher situations),” Carlyle said. “His minutes are expanded more than they were last year and they’re probably going to go up in the next half here.

“He’s got to take nights like Toronto, which wasn’t a banner night for him, and understand that there’s some things that he can do differently. But yet he can’t get bogged down and do the things that he does well. Continue to grow as a hockey player.”

Montour has always exuded confidence, and it hasn’t waned, even in the tough times.

“Now I know I can be a big difference and help the team,” he said. “I believe in my abilities and I know I can be a big part of what we got here. It’s just one of those things where I want to be on the ice all the time. But the season’s been good.

“It’s a learning curve but I’ve been happy with it.”

MAKING MOVES

The Ducks put goalie John Gibson on injured reserve, partially for the purpose of being able to recall winger Nic Kerdiles as forward insurance.

The Gibson move is retroactive to Tuesday, Jan. 30, when he was forced to leave their win over Boston in the third period with a lower-body injury. It means Gibson could be eligible to play on Friday against Edmonton if he is sound.

Gibson skated and took shots in net for a second straight day after being unable to take the ice since his injury. Ryan Miller started the final four games of their trip.

Kerdiles ultimately wasn’t needed and watched the game from the press box. Carlyle did change up the lineup in inserting center Derek Grant and defenseman Korbinian Holzer in place of Antoine Vermette and Francois Beauchemin.